A new thermoplastic retainer.
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Dental Casting Technique↗
Biomedical subjects
F Wang
Publications and source records attributed to F Wang.
[The effect of platelet activating factor on the biosynthesis of thromboxane A2 and prostaglandin I2 in human placental villi and umbilical artery].
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of platelet activating factor (PAF) on the biosynthesis of thromboxane A2(TXA2) and prostaglandin I2(PGI2) in human chorionic villi and umbilical arteries. METHODS: We perfused the human placental villi and umbilical arteries with PAF (10(-9)-10(-7) mol/l), then quantified TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha in the perfusion fluid by Radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: PAF stimulated the biosynthesis of TXA2 and PGI2 in human umbilical arteries and chorionic villi in vitro. The production of TXB2 increased from 63.15 +/- 13.24 pg/mg protein to 127.03 +/- 27.76 pg/mg protein with response to the stimulation of PAF (10(-9) mol/L) (P < 0.01). The concentration of PAF (10(-8) mol/L) displayed the most optimal stimulating effect on PGI2 biosynthesis in umbilical artery samples and the production of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha increased from 6,747.52 +/- 700.31 pg/cm to 8,342 +/- 335.81 pg/cm (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: PAF may affect the fetal-placental circulation by regulating the local levels of PGI2 and TXA2.
6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
[Rapid prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome in the first trimester of pregnancy by fluorescence in situ hybridization].
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome 21, specific DNA probe is applicable as a prenatal diagnostic tool for Down's syndrome. METHOD: We used FISH with chromosome 21 specific probe on 30 uncultured chorionic villi cell samples to detect the Down's fetus, and we also performed the conventional chromosome analysis of chorion cells from parallel samples. RESULTS: In samples with disomic karyotype, an average of 1 percent (0-5 percent) of the nuclei had three hybridization signals. By contrast, in the samples of trisomy 21 fetus, an average of 86 percent (78-91 percent) of the nuclei displayed three signals. CONCLUSION: FISH can provide a rapid and accurate method for the first trimester prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome.
Chorionic Villi Sampling↗
[Research respects and status of functional neuromuscular stimulation].
Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation (FNS) is a technique of restoring movements of paralyzed patients. This paper describes several respects of functional neuromuscular stimulation, such as stimulators, sensors, electrodes, muscle-skeletal models and control methods. Some novel control strategies are also discussed in this paper.
Electric Stimulation Therapy↗
Virus-cell interactions in a natural killer-like cell line from a patient with lymphoblastic lymphoma.
Lymphoproliferative disorders involving Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infected natural killer (NK) cells are reported with increasing frequency, but the nature and role of EBV infection in these cells remains undefined. In this study, we have investigated virus-cell interactions in the EBV-positive YTN10 cell line, an NK-like cell line established from a patient with lymphoblastic lymphoma. Low level expression of the EBV receptor CD21 molecule was detected by FACS and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Immunoblotting and RT-PCR analysis identified a latency II pattern of EBV gene expression, consisting of EBNA-1 transcription from the Qp promoter, in the absence of other EBNA gene expression, and accompanied by LMP-1 and LMP-2A expression. The EBV genome was present in episomal form and there was evidence for lytic viral replication. This latency pattern is typical of EBV gene expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin's disease, and differs from the full spectrum of EBV latent gene expression in most posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders and from the restricted EBNA-1 expression in Burkitt's lymphoma tissues. The interaction between EBV and NK cells described here has important implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of EBV-infected NK malignancies.
Adolescent↗
Visualizing an olfactory sensory map.
We have developed a genetic approach to visualize axons from olfactory sensory neurons expressing a given odorant receptor, as they project to the olfactory bulb. Neurons expressing a specific receptor project to only two topographically fixed loci among the 1800 glomeruli in the mouse olfactory bulb. Our data provide direct support for a model in which a topographic map of receptor activation encodes odor quality in the olfactory bulb. Receptor swap experiments suggest that the olfactory receptor plays an instructive role in the guidance process but cannot be the sole determinant in the establishment of this map. This genetic approach may be more broadly applied to visualize the development and plasticity of projections in the mammalian nervous system.
Animals↗
A flower-specific gene encoding an osmotin-like protein from Lycopersicon esculentum.
The flower-specific cDNA Tomf216 representing an mRNA encoding an osmotin-like protein was identified by the differential screening of a cDNA library produced from mRNA extracted from premeiotic tomato flowers (Lycopersicon esculentum). The cDNA is 894 nucleotides in length and encodes a protein of 252 amino acids. The deduced protein has a molecular mass of 27.2 kDa, an N-terminal region predicted to be a signal sequence, and a predicted molecular mass of 24.7 kDa for the mature protein. The protein contains 16 cysteine residues and has 30% to 32% amino acid sequence identity to pathogenesis-related osmotins. The gene is expressed in flowers and fruit with the highest levels of transcript accumulation in pistils from flowers at anthesis. No expression was detected in vegetative organs.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Molecular modeling and deletion mutagenesis implicate the nuclear translocation sequence in structural integrity of fibroblast growth factor-1.
The sequence NYKKPKL in the NH2 terminus of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-1 has been proposed to affect the long term activities of FGF-1 through its function as a nuclear translocation signal or its role in stabilization of the structure required to sustain binding and activation of the transmembrane receptor kinase. A dynamic molecular model of FGF-1 docked into a duplex of the FGF receptor ectodomain and a hexadecameric heparin chain suggests that the NYKKPKL sequence does not directly interact with heparin or the receptor, but rather the lysine-leucine residues within the sequence indirectly stabilize a major receptor-binding domain. Concurrent with a marked increase in dependence on exogenous heparin for optimal activity, sequential deletion of residues in the NYKKPKL sequence in FGF-1 resulted in a progressive loss of thermal stability, resistance to protease, mitogenic activity, and affinity for the transmembrane receptor. The largest change resulted from deletion of the entire sequence through the lysine-leucine residues. In the presence of sufficiently high concentrations of heparin, the deletion mutants exhibited mitogenic activity equal to wild-type FGF-1. The results confirm that a primary role of the NYKKPKL sequence domain is to maintain the structural integrity of FGF-1 required for optimal binding to and activation of the heparan sulfate-transmembrane receptor complex.
3T3 Cells↗
Divalent cations and heparin/heparan sulfate cooperate to control assembly and activity of the fibroblast growth factor receptor complex.
Polypeptides of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family are ubiquitous bioregulators within tissues whose activity is controlled by heparan sulfates within the pericellular matrix. FGF and the ectodomain of their transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptors (FGFR) exhibit heparin-binding domains that when juxtaposed in a FGF middle dotFGFR complex can accommodate a single, potentially bivalent, decameric polysaccharide chain in a ternary complex. Here we show that the interaction of heparin with FGF ligands is not affected by divalent cations. In contrast, the high affinity interaction (apparent Kd = 10 nM) of heparin with FGFR requires Ca2+ or Mg2+ at physiological concentrations. Divalent cations maintain FGFR in a heparan sulfate-dependent state in respect to FGF binding and an FGF- and heparan sulfate-dependent state in respect to autophosphorylation. A model is proposed where divalent cations and heparan sulfate cooperate to maintain FGFR in a conformation that restricts trans-phosphorylation between intracellular kinase domains. The restriction is overcome by FGF or constitutively as a common consequence of diverse mutations in FGFR associated with skeletal and craniofacial abnormalities.
Binding Sites↗
Chiral separations by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis.
This paper reports successful chiral separations of pharmaceutical racemic amines by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) using beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins (CDs) and various derivatives of beta-CDs. The results in three organic solvents, formamide (FA), N-methylformamide (NMF), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) were compared to those in pure water and in 6 M urea in water systems. The binding constants of trimipramine, mianserin, and thioridazine with beta-CD were determined in the following five solvent systems: water, 6 M urea in water, FA, NMF, and DMF. The binding constants decreased systematically from approximately 10(4) in water to approximately 10 in FA and approximately 10(-2) in DMF. As a result, the optimum CD concentration in the aqueous media is in the high micromolar range, while that in the FA is around 100 mM. In the aqueous media, the occurrence of the optimum at very low concentrations and the rapid changes in enantioselectivity with CD concentration would make it difficult to develop methods based on trial and error. Nevertheless, it is shown that, even under nonoptimum concentrations of the chiral selector, other experimental parameters such as ionic strength, addition of tetraalkylammonium (TAA+), and temperature can be adjusted to achieve acceptable resolutions. This, however, is often achieved at the expense of longer analysis times. In addition, the effects of apparent pH (pH*) and type of cyclodextrin on chiral separations in NACE are studied. The application of negatively charged beta-CD in FA is also reported. Chiral separation of trimipramine was achieved at lower concentration of anionic CD due to the additional Coulombic interactions.
Cyclodextrins↗
Structure of the replication terminus-terminator protein complex as probed by affinity cleavage.
The replication terminator protein (RTP) of Bacillus subtilis is a homodimer that binds to each replication terminus and impedes replication fork movement in only one orientation with respect to the replication origin. The three-dimensional structure of the RTP-DNA complex needs to be determined to understand how structurally symmetrical dimers of RTP generate functional asymmetry. The functional unit of each replication terminus of Bacillus subtilis consists of four turns of DNA complexed with two interacting dimers of RTP. Although the crystal structure of the RTP apoprotein dimer has been determined at 2.6-A resolution, the functional unit of the terminus is probably too large and too flexible to lend itself to cocrystallization. We have therefore used an alternative strategy to delineate the three dimensional structure of the RTP-DNA complex by converting the protein into a site-directed chemical nuclease. From the pattern of base-specific cleavage of the terminus DNA by the chemical nuclease, we have mapped the amino acid to base contacts. Using these contacts as distance constraints, with the crystal structure of RTP, we have constructed a model of the DNA-protein complex. The biological implications of the model have been discussed.
Bacillus subtilis↗
A novel receptor-mediated nuclear protein import pathway.
Targeting of most nuclear proteins to the cell nucleus is initiated by interaction between the classical nuclear localization signals (NLSs) contained within them and the importin NLS receptor complex. We have recently delineated a novel 38 amino acid transport signal in the hnRNP A1 protein, termed M9, which confers bidirectional transport across the nuclear envelope. We show here that M9-mediated nuclear import occurs by a novel pathway that is independent of the well-characterized, importin-mediated classical NLS pathway. Additionally, we have identified a specific M9-interacting protein, termed transportin, which binds to wild-type M9 but not to transport-defective M9 mutants. Transportin is a 90 kDa protein, distantly related to importin beta, and we show that it mediates the nuclear import of M9-containing proteins. These findings demonstrate that there are at least two receptor-mediated nuclear protein import pathways. Furthermore, as hnRNP A1 likely participates in mRNA export, it raises the possibility that transportin is a mediator of this process as well.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Product State Control through Interfering Excitation Routes.
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Journal Article↗
Salt-induced aggregation of lysozyme studied by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde: implications for crystal growth.
Glutaraldehyde cross-linking followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has been used to detect aggregates of isozyme in solutions which lead to crystals. In solutions of varying NaCl content, the number of aggregates was found to be related to the ionic strength of the solution. Solutions of 1% NaCl, pH 4.0 were monomeric while those containing 7-15% NaCl, pH 4.0 were shown to be as much as 36% aggregated and 64% monomeric. The aggregates detected at the highest salt and protein concentration studied were composed of dimers, trimers and tetramers. The aggregates increased by addition of single units suggesting the aggregation pathway to be that of monomer addition. The kinetics of the cross-linking reaction were slow preventing a study of either the time dependence of aggregation or the effect of temperature on aggregate distributions. Comparison of the total aggregate concentrations for NaCl and Na(2)SO(4) showed that the concentration of aggregates was related to the ionic strength of the solution suggesting that in both crystallization and precipitation, electrostatic shielding of like-charged protein molecules is necessary in order for aggregation to occur.
Journal Article↗
Assembly of human neuronal nicotinic receptor alpha5 subunits with alpha3, beta2, and beta4 subunits.
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors formed from combinations of alpha3, beta2, beta4, and alpha5 subunits are found in chicken ciliary ganglion neurons and some human neuroblastoma cell lines. We studied the co-expression of various combinations of cloned human alpha3, beta2, beta4, and alpha5 subunits in Xenopus oocytes. Expression on the surface membrane was found only for combinations of alpha3beta2, alpha3beta4, alpha3beta2alpha5, and alpha3beta4alpha5 subunits but not for other combinations of one, two, or three of these subunits. alpha5 subunits assembled inside the oocyte with beta2 but not with alpha3 subunits or other alpha5 subunits. alpha5 subunits coassembled very efficiently with alpha3beta2 or alpha3beta4 combinations. The presence of alpha5 subunits had very little effect on the binding affinities for epibatidine of receptors containing also alpha3 and beta2 or alpha3 and beta4 subunits. The presence of alpha5 subunits increased the rate of desensitization of both receptors containing also alpha3 and beta2 or alpha3 and beta4 subunits. In the case of receptors containing alpha3 and beta4 subunits, the addition of alpha5 subunits had little effect on the responses to acetylcholine or nicotine. However, in the case of receptors containing alpha3 and beta2 subunits, the addition of alpha5 subunits reduced the EC50 for acetylcholine from 28 to 0.5 microM and the EC50 for nicotine from 6.8 to 1.9 microM, while increasing the efficacy of nicotine from 50% on alpha3beta2 receptors to 100% on alpha3beta2alpha5 receptors. Both alpha3beta2 and alpha3beta2alpha5 receptors expressed in oocytes sedimented at the same 11 S value as native alpha3-containing receptors from the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. In the receptors from the neuroblastoma alpha3, beta2, and alpha5 subunits were co-assembled, and 56% of the receptor subtypes containing alpha3 subunits also contained beta2 subunits. The beta2 subunit-containing receptors from SH-SY5Y cells exhibited the high affinity for epibatidine characteristic of receptors formed from alpha3 and beta2 or alpha3, beta2, and alpha5 subunits rather than the low affinity exhibited by receptors formed from alpha3 and beta4 or alpha3, beta4, and alpha5 subunits. Nicotine, like the structurally similar toxin epibatidine, also distinguishes by binding affinity two subtypes of receptors containing alpha3 subunits in SH-SY5Y cells. The affinities of alpha3beta2 receptors expressed in oocytes were similar to the affinities of native alpha3 containing receptors from SH-SY5Y cells for acetylcholine, cytisine, and 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium.
Acetylcholine↗
The structure and function of the replication terminator protein of Bacillus subtilis: identification of the 'winged helix' DNA-binding domain.
The replication terminator protein (RTP) of Bacillus subtilis impedes replication fork movement in a polar mode upon binding as two interacting dimers to each of the replication termini. The mode of interaction of RTP with the terminus DNA is of considerable mechanistic significance because the DNA-protein complex not only localizes the helicase-blocking activity to the terminus, but also generates functional asymmetry from structurally symmetric protein dimers. The functional asymmetry is manifested in the polar impedance of replication fork movement. Although the crystal structure of the apoprotein has been solved, hitherto there was no direct evidence as to which parts of RTP were in contact with the replication terminus. Here we have used a variety of approaches, including saturation mutagenesis, genetic selection for DNA-binding mutants, photo cross-linking, biochemical and functional characterizations of the mutant proteins, and X-ray crystallography, to identify the regions of RTP that are either in direct contact with or are located within 11 angstroms of the replication terminus. The data show that the unstructured N-terminal arm, the alpha3 helix and the beta2 strand are involved in DNA binding. The mapping of amino acids of RTP in contact with DNA, confirms a 'winged helix' DNA-binding motif.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
In vivo CTL immunity can be elicited by in vitro reconstituted MHC/peptide complex.
The use of peptides as a vaccine is a potentially powerful immunization strategy. We explored the possibility of inducing an efficient cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) mediated immune response in mice, using in vitro reconstituted major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I/peptide complexes as the immunogen. Recombinant derived H-2Kb and beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) were properly folded into an MHC class I complex using the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-8mer from the natural nucleocapsid proteinN52-59 (RGYVYQGL), an immunodominant Kb epitope in C57BL/6 (B6) mice. After immunizing mice with the H-2Kb class I/VSV peptide complex and a subsequent in vitro stimulation with the VSV peptide alone, a specific CTL response was demonstrated. The method was also applicable to other peptides, for example, the Sendai virus (SV) peptideN324-332 (FAPGNYPAL). The CTL response was mediated by CD3+/CD8+ T cells and was shown to be allele specific, as only peptide loaded target cells expressing the H-2Kb allele could be recognized. It is of interest that extremely small amounts of injected MHC class I/peptide complex (i.e. 500 pg) could generate a measurable CTL response. The MHC class I/peptide complex had to be intact and properly folded to elicit an immune response, suggesting that the complex protected the peptide for internalization by antigen presenting cells (APCs) or for delivering to the proper site for peptide exchange on the cell surface of APCs. The described immunizing method can be routinely used to prime a CTL response by employing in vitro folded MHC class I/peptide complexes, without the use of adjuvants. It appears to be efficient, sensitive and specific. By using the recombinant protein system, unlimited amounts of MHC class I/peptide complex can be produced for immunization. Moreover, this protocol permits different in vitro combinations of allelic MHC class I molecules and peptide variants.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Expression of cholera toxin subunits in plants.
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Cholera Toxin↗